WHEN Paul Glover started working for Nottingham City Council 15 years ago, bin collections were simple.

Binmen emptied everything residents left in their bins into the back of the lorry and took it away to be incinerated or landfilled.

But since then, widespread recycling has been introduced in the city and the job has evolved into a sophisticated operation.

Now, driver Paul has an array of technology in the cab of his bin lorry which allows him to instantly record when people haven't left their bins out, if residents put unsuitable materials in their recycling or if they need extra help.

The information is relayed to the headquarters at Eastcroft Depot, off London Road, using satellite technology.

Then the next time a crew is in the area, the system tells them if there are any issues they could encounter.

In the cases of persistent problems, it can make it easier to decide whether to send a waste officer around to chat with the resident to overcome issues they might be having.

If people have disabilities, it tells the binmen the resident needs help with their bin.

In the past, this information could have been lost.

But now it is helping to get more people recycling as well as helping to understand how things can be improved.

The cab also has a separate monitor which tells crews how much weight the lorry is carrying, so they know when it is nearly full.

And another screen shows video camera footage from the back of the vehicle to help with tricky reversing manoeuvres.

Back at headquarters, managers have a large screen where they can track where any one of their lorries is at any time, as well as seeing where and when they have already been.

Paul said he had also seen a shift in attitudes as residents become more savvy about recycling.

"It used to be one bin – no recycling," he said.

"People used to think they were doing your job for you because they were putting bins out.

"But people understand the system now. People are definitely recycling and it is working. It is the future.

"When I started working for the council 15 years ago there were six landfill sites. There's one left now at Dorkett Head.

"The job has become more professional. I have seen it change for the good – especially with recycling."

Jason Martyn, operations waste manager, said: "The speed we can do things now is unbelievable and customer satisfaction has gone up as well."

He added that the computer system, by BARTEC, has been in use in the city for about a year now and about 70% of the city's fleet of lorries was equipped with the technology – with the rest being fitted in the near future.